The power of the poster

The Library of Congress has a new book, “Presidential Campaign Posters,” that tells the story of two centuries of presidential elections. W. Ralph Eubanks, director of publishing for the Library of Congress, said when television ads came on the scene in the 1960s, posters moved from a way to present a platform to a way to brand a campaign.

But, Eubanks said, one needs to look no further than the 2008 Obama “Hope” poster to see the main purpose of campaign posters then and now — presenting an idealized image of a candidate.

The modern campaign poster

Artists Shepard Fairey and Ben Shahn insert their interpretations of how a candidate relates to social issues, Eubanks said. In Shahn’s case, the artist attached the candidate to his position on the Vietnam War. In Fairey’s, the artist attached a cry for social justice to Obama’s campaign brand.
(Photo: Library of Congress | Date: May. 3, 2012)